Goddamn. So I'm just going to go ahead and assume that you (and the usual suspects) will be joining me for RETRO WORMS on the last weekend in August. 29th-31st, bank holiday weekend, tea, pizzas, early hours... magic.

Ascovel

06-21-2009 06:36 PM

how many more worms do we need?

Lagomorph01

06-21-2009 07:43 PM

And what's so new about this?
It looks exactly the same as Worms Armageddon.

I like the "War of the Worms" remix in the background though.

Thrik

06-22-2009 04:55 AM

Well... exactly. We've been wanting an updated version of Worms Armageddon for years, considering the 2D Worms series pretty much stopped evolving at that point and it doesn't even run on Vista/Windows 7 last time I checked.

Clearly this new game has new weapons and gameplay mechanics, such as vertical levels. Also the graphics are significantly advanced, though it is hard to tell in the video. And best of all, the ability to zoom! If you've played Worms as much as us every little is appreciated.

It might be worth highlighting that a number of us are former serious Worms addicts. As in, played every night for years. ;

bgbennyboy

06-22-2009 05:21 PM

Fact: We've been playing Worms Armageddon in two different millennia now.

scabb

06-26-2009 12:49 PM

Heh. 800points is ridiculously cheap, too. I'll be acquiring this for the xbox I reckon, dem worms guys is from wakey innit. Probably wind up with the PC version too, almost certainly if they stick it on steam.

My XBL gamertag is "scabbzo" if anyone wants to add me. Do any of you lot actually have a proper console, or are you all still dyed in the wool keyboard wielding luddites?

I think I might be getting this... of course I wouldn't stand a chance against you hardcore Worms players, but what the heck. :)

Huz

08-26-2010 05:41 PM

Worms in 2010? Absolutely not!

No, I kid. It practically goes without saying that I've bought, downloaded and been playing the new Worms Reloaded game already! None of your Xbox 360 nonsense, I'm afraid, Scabb - although a dumbing-down for the console generation is very much in evidence, I'm afraid to say. There isn't even a low gravity weapon any more! Pathetic!

Still, it's early days, and I've only had a quick blast with Benny so far. Perhaps the low gravity option is hidden somewhere, ready to be discovered! We can but hope.

So far there's a lot of things I don't dig: the animations are chunky, the weapon supply is slightly limited, only four worms per team (what?), the ninja rope doesn't feel quite like it used to... To me, though, this is nothing compared to the hideously garish and poorly designed UI. What happened to the cold, clean aesthetics of Armageddon?

Still, though, the game's as fun as I remember it being ten (!) years ago, and I really like the feel of the new physics.

bgbennyboy

08-27-2010 08:35 PM

Agreed, the interface is ridiculously chunky and the weapon selection screen is poor. The rope doesnt seem to have as much bounce, it seems harder to bounce over obstacles like you used to.

Its still Worms though and therefore a really great game. Its just irritating that in some ways its not as good as Armageddon.

Harald B

08-28-2010 03:47 AM

I agree with all of this. I love the new Worms once again, but some of the choices they made are baffling. I was prepared for an end to user-made soundbanks, but the game scheme customization is preposterous. It has less options and still manages to be much more unclear than in Armageddon. If I didn't know any better I'd think it were ported over from a console.
And what's with the limited number of shotguns, uzis and punches in the default scheme. It's like a whole different game! And I like the hats, but I really wish it were possible to have a team without them.
But well, it's still Worms, it's still as fun and there needed to be a modern version, so I'm not complaining too loudly. Especially at that price point. My steam ID is zplatt7.

Huz

08-28-2010 03:15 PM

I agree about the scheme editing options being frustratingly limited, yet somehow more obscure than the old Armageddon settings! You can't edit parameters that were altered to great effect to create our Armageddon schemes, such as rope length.

The new ninja rope behaviour is pretty bad, and where's the ability to jump backwards?!

There are still some nice aspects to the game though. Integration with Steam is obviously a massive bonus - I'm sure my brain is partially blotting out the pain of hosting a Worms Armageddon game, with all that hanging around in the lobby, being unable to alt-tab back to Windows to round up your opponents without running the risk of it crashing - and you can use the shifty-eye character in game!

I see it also boasts built-in voice chat, although I only know that because I hear Benny's game sounds and questionable MP3 choices through it. ¬¬

My Steam friends list has just lit up with people shouting "WORMS????", so further critique will have to wait. ;

Harald B

08-29-2010 05:01 AM

Double-enter does the high backflip that used to be double-backspace. Looks like they got rid of the regular back and up jumps.
The ninja rope nerf is sad. It's now almost impossible to use the rope to end up higher than the point you fire the rope at. I suppose it could be an intentional decision.

On the upside, the game dir isn't encrypted so there's some hope for modding tools to appear soon. I've already found out how to make custom maps: make a TGA file of 2560x1280 (or vice versa for a vertical map) and put it in \worms reloaded\UserLandscapes. (Sadly you can't use any of them online, not even the ones that came with the game.) And I think it was you who told me people are close to figuring out how to make their own soundbanks.

bgbennyboy

08-29-2010 07:37 AM

The soundbanks are just standard xbox wavebanks/soundbanks, you can even open them with my Monkey Island Explorer tool. So making a custom soundbank using the XACT tool should be completely possible, all someone needs to do is make a template with the correct names in the soundbank in the correct order then all anyone would have to do is add the sounds and compile it. Whether it'd work online is another matter though:

The game seems to do a crc check on its files, if any of them are changed then online play is disabled. Its completely understandable but also a shame because the interface is completely moddable - have a look in chat.txt, you can change the size of the hulking great chat box.

Custom soundbanks might work ingame though, perhaps they dont do a crc check on that folder.

Harald B

08-29-2010 11:15 AM

Copying an existing soundbank into a new name doesn't make it show up in-game, so we may be out of luck for now. Luckily someone from Team 17 has said they will add a speechbank editor "if the community wants one".

Huz

09-11-2010 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Benny's Twitter

Just had a quick go on Worms Armageddon. It dumps all over Worms Reloaded. Still a brilliant game

I agree! If Worms Reloaded is good for anything, it's for reminding you what a fantastic game Worms Armageddon was.

I've got Worms Armageddon working properly in Windows 7. I've got all the right soundbanks installed. I've even set my router up with the ports it needs for online play. All it needs now is you.

Benny are I are (probably) going to have an online bash at it tomorrow - who else is ready for the frustration, the tears, the agony of an online Worms match? It'll be like 2004 all over again.

Scummbuddy

09-12-2010 12:33 PM

I got worms from the worm store.

Get steamy with me @ "srusselln"

Harald B

12-17-2010 06:50 AM

I'm bumping this thread to point out that Worms: Reloaded now has a soundbank editor. The cues are essentially the same, so you can recreate your old ones (such as the ones mentioned here) pretty easily.
I've already recreated and call dibbs on my Sam & Max Season One soundbank (the one in that other thread is Hit the Road.)
Game schemes have been exportable for a while as well, should anyone be interested.

I'm afraid I have disappointing follow-up news. After some testing it looks like you can't hear other people's custom soundbanks in online games, even if you have the same soundbank yourself. Until they fix that at least, consider my dibs withdrawn.
edit: ok, forget what I just said. There was a filename mismatch. It should work properly.